'Powerful Questions' Are Key To Being A Better Manager

Whether you're a great manager
or a lousy one, there’s always room for improvement. One easy way
to become a much better leader: ask “powerful questions.”

In a recent Entrepreneur article, Gary Magenta, senior
vice president of Root Inc. and author of “The Un-Bossy Boss: 12 Powerful Questions to Make
You a Great Manager,” says that the very best managers never
tell their employees what to do. Instead, they “unleash
the potential of individual employees” by asking questions that
are intended to encourage employees to come to their own
conclusions about how to have a more positive impact on the
company and how to cultivate their own success.

Magenta says “powerful questions” should show that
you’re genuinely interested in the employee. They are
typically open-ended queries that elicit thoughtful responses;
they're provocative, respectful, and non-judgmental. Ultimately, they should uncover
what’s on your employee’s mind, help your employee separate facts
from opinions or judgments, and inspire the employee to consider
how attitude can affect his or her performance, among other
things, he says.

Examples of effective “powerful questions” include: “What is most
important for you to talk about?” “What’s really happening, and
what are the judgments you added to your story?” and “What
actions will your current thinking likely inspire?”

But Magenta says the best one
of all is, “What else?”

“[It gives employees] an
opportunity to truly reflect and bring additional thoughts to the
surface,” he says.

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